Chapter 105 - Skies End Attack PT2
Floating in another space, none of the Zeppelins showed that they had been hit by Urthemiel's attack. In fact, they looked like they had gone through some sort of metamorphosis or something similar. Each Zeppelin now began radiating a familiar orangish red aura, one that covered them like that one ninja guy's fox-like cloak when he fought that undying snake man. Their forms crackled with energy, their appearances gradually blackening from a deep brownish colour to an abyssal black, faint wisps of energy emitting from their beings. Their skulls became increasing twisted, their eyes now ablaze with dark crimson flames while the same could be said for their mouths. Their expressions also morphed to ones of vengeance and wrath against their enemies, something that would scare anyone other than Nico.
'What…?! What in the flying shit is this?!'
'Nico! I sense powerful demonic Wards being channelled through the Zeppelins! Looks like these guys have been dabbling in the dark arts, not unlike Maghda's Cultists!'
Indeed, while getting control over his emotions, Nico's senses informed him that there was a large 'core' of demonic energy within the Capital Zeppelin, as well as smaller ones within the others. These 'Cores' seemingly supplied them with demonic power and seemed to be formed from the draining of demonic energy from some powerful said entities. His guess, these cores would allow these Zeppelins to have demonic based spells like those that the Mages he fought in the Hellverse used, and to some lesser extent the Cultists as well, cast upon them. They could possibly have demonic wards on them as well. How these cores were made in the first place he had no idea, nor did he know what potential these Cores would have.
That… had been some stunning information to take in.
Though, Nico had to sigh to himself, he had been hoping that he wouldn't have to deal with any demonic shit for at least a couple days, but sadly turns out that wouldn't be the case. The fact that these Bandits had access to such powers worried the male, though he didn't show it. He figured that one of them had sworn him or herself to the Chaos Gods (Khorne most likely considering the powerful essence of wrath that his senses picked up) seemed to have made this situation all the more troublesome. He'd have to get on board the Zeppelins and find out what was going on himself. But first…
He had to get his steed.
Hiding his unease about the situation, Nico clicked his fingers and muttered under his breath. "Come forth, my ride..." his whisper may as well have been a major frenzied battle cry from the followers of Khorne, as the moment he uttered them a huge blaze of Hellfire erupted from the ground beside him, roaring like a furious deity wanting to exercise vengeance upon the mortal plane. From that blaze, a silhouette jumped out with a loud shrieking sound accompanying it as well as the roar of furious Hellfire flames.
The silhouette landed on the ground, flames trailing behind it as it circled around the armoured male from behind, stopping when it was directly beside his right flank. This allowed its form to be shown to the onlookers, revealing itself to be a Motorcycle… or rather the Motorcycle that Nico once used as his Skimmer. Only now… It had been Desecrated by his Demonic Power, taking on an entirely new form that just screamed power and dominance over the skies.
It kept its original design in terms of structure, but now it adopted a black and red colour scheme reminiscent of his true Hellfire, with multiple ports on each wing that erupted in Hellfire spike plumes for slashing aerial targets. These spikes rivalled shortswords in length. Each wing now had a more wicked, sickle-like designs that would unfold into 4 long demonic segmented wings, wings that could cut through the air as easy as fire melting ice cream (Nico knew this, cause he'd checked. Don't ask how). Behind it, the two Engines now looked like human horned skulls, each equipped with blazing eye sockets with Hellfire flames within their permanently open mouths.
Chains connected them to the Motorcycle, as well as mixed and mingled within the Motorcycle itself. The handles, various mechanisms, all of it now had this demonic punk-like appearance, twisting and giving the Skimmer much more of an edgy vibe. Each handle had a spiked pauldron over them for protection, the spikes made from Hellfire. The mechanisms in front of him each showed themselves as large, crimson slitted eyes looking back at him. The front had what looked like a half a Skull's upper face curving above the front wheel, while the rear wheel had multiple armour pieces jutting out into a similar curve. The front skull had Hellfire horns protruding forwards, while its sockets blazed brightly in a similar fashion. Metallic Spikes jutted downwards from its upper jaw. Lastly, were the wheels themselves, which literally were just wheels made from pure ass crimson Hellfire, wisps arching off them and into the atmosphere. Embers flew off the Motorcycle across all directions.
The whole thing just screamed 'mighty steed of a demonic knight'.
Throwing a leg over, Nico dramatically mounted his new ride, grinning ferally behind his helmet as his crimson and red gauntlets grasped onto the rough velvet textures the handles had. He had been curious about this Desecration ability and wanted to see if he could apply it to his current weapons and armour. Despite the earlier fears he had with the whole DEATHASTROKE identity thing, the male still found it within him to change his gear so that they would be increasingly effective against the demonic forces invading Gamindustri. Hell, if his mother was here, then she'd be urging him to go all for it, probably with a large flag with the words 'kick their asses, honey XD!' while sporting a matching cap and one of those large pointy hand things.
Thus, he had applied Desecration to his Skimmer and his other human weapons, filling their beings with his demonic power and enhancing them in every way possible. They gained newer appearances, upgrades and feels to them, along with semi-sentient links to his mind and soul. It was something that would happen all the time when he Desecrated a piece of tech. When he did so, he was literally giving them a fraction of is power, enough to form a connection that, while inferior, did feel quite similar to the Devil Arms. In fact, it felt more like the link he had with his Armour, than anything. Maybe he might get a new title by the time he was strong enough to go public with his DPU powers… that is, if he ever did, which didn't seem likely to happen any time soon.
Regarding his Skimmer, it now ran solely on Hellfire, Nico's Hellfire to be exact. It wouldn't work with anything else. It would be its sole power source, as well as a form of ID Locking since it would recognize only his Hellfire as its power source. In addition, it had a similar 'Core' within it that generated the necessary Hellfire, with the same signature as Nico's own to allow it to function autonomously. This Core also served as the source of its sentience, while it had the additional power to apply the benefits of Hellfire for offensive and defensive purposes.
Also, surprisingly enough Nico found that he could imbue his Devil Arms' powers into them too, for additional effects. For example, if he stabbed Rebellion into this central hole between the cockpit and the mechanics in front of him, then the Devil Arm's Lightning would increase its speed tremendously. However, this would only be applicable with one Devil Arm at a time, and he would have to switch it out for a new one if he wanted different effects. His new instant switching capabilities compensated for this, though. It meant that he wouldn't have access to this Devil Arm, however that would be a small price to pay. What's losing one weapon when he had so many more?
VROOM, VROOM
Revving the engines (which also resulted in this slight growling sound that Nico nearly got an eargasm from, seriously his ears nearly creamed), Nico looked upwards and eyed the enemy Zeppelins, his eyes burning with Hellfire behind his helmet. The male would have to go ad support his Archdemon soon, since it already begun its next offensive by launching a Primal Firestream at them. However, they had erected a Barrier like last time to delay the Firestream long enough for another Warping. However, he had one last important task to do before he would go into battle, something that would be crucial when attaining a ride as epic as this baby. Looking down, Nico's flaming eyes stared fondly down at his Skimmer behind his Helmet. He affectionately rubbed its skull-shaped hood with his right hand, earning a purring sound from its engine.
He honestly had a smirk on that one.
"Alright my stead… my… my Ember! Let's do this, Ember! Full throttle!"
"It looks like he is progressing well…"
"Perhaps…" Biko muttered under his breath as he stood in the middle of a deserted plane. There wouldn't be any attacks here, for he had already wiped them out, so he could have time to think. However, he had sensed a presence shortly afterwards, though didn't attack. He knew EXACTLY who it was that was talking to him right now, though it did surprise him how this person talked to him and not Nico himself. He was the main aspect, after all. "However, it is strange that you are not talking to him and instead to me. You DO talk to him in that Mirror World you're so fond of."
The Mirror world… Biko knew what that was as well. He knew ever since the last time Nico got dragged there, for he had met the child him that appeared there not long after. It had been an… interesting find, to see that this version of Nico represented something that the main aspect had lost long ago: his childhood innocence.
You see, Nico's mental fortitude may be strong, but equally strong was how shattered his psyche had become as a result of things in the past that lay forgotten. The fact that there were multiple aspects for different traits that he possessed was proof of this. In fact, madness and insanity were larger aspects of Nico's personality, and usually came out more when he unleashed his hidden side. The few times he had used that power were too quick for them to properly take effect, however they were there. In addition, as long as Nico would head down this road he travelled, those aspects would soon return to the surface.
After all, those mostly came from his other side. Hell, one could say they were encouraged by it.
As for the Mirror World, Biko had discovered that it was the result of Nico's shattered psyche, and yet still had similarities to his Inner World. While the latter was the world manifested within his subconscious, that Mirror World was a manifestation of Nico's broken mind. A place where his mind would sometimes go instead of his Inner World. It wasn't natural like the Inner World, however, in fact Biko dared say that it was the complete opposite.
Turning around, Biko cam face to face with Nico… or rather, the childish Nico that appeared to him in the Mirror World. The child stood there bare foot on the hot desert sand yet looked like he wasn't suffering from it in the least. In fact, one might say that the child found comfort in it. The child kept his gaze on Biko, the demonic aspect eyeing him with a mix of wariness and confusion. The child slowly nodded his head down and upwards, his lips in a flat line. "You are me after all. You may be a foreign being, but you are slowly being accepted as part of our lives. Thus, we will be able to visit you more. The trials our main has completed so far have aided this process significantly."
Biko arched a brow, his eyes glinting curiously. "We? Do you mean that there are more of you? More fragments of Nico's psyche that have been scattered throughout his mind?" Biko questioned, ever the more curious. Though, worry slowly crept into his words by the end at the thought of that being a fact. If so, then it was even more imperative that they regain mastery over his hidden side so his mind could properly pull itself back together.
The child nodded. "Indeed, there are quite a few of us, and we are all eagerly awaiting the moment that we can make our return. When we can finally mend what was broken so long ago. So far, the first hurdle, 'Acceptance' has been cleared, followed closely by the second hurdle, 'resolution'. Our progress is going smoothly, soon we shall be whole once more, and by then our real self will shine once again."
"That is all well and good… but humour me an answer to this: why does Nico try so hard to be independent of others? Why does he try so hard to do everything on his own?" Nico questioned the child Nico. It had been bothering him for a while now, but he had known for quite some time that there was something deeply warped within Nico's being, worse than either the DPU or his hidden side. There was something lurking within the deepest shadows of his mind, just as that associate of Helens had feared. Biko knew what he had been thinking just by looking at his micro-expressions, and instantly figured out that he had seen the same thing that he did.
There have been times where he had been trying to convince Nico to trust those girls more, to take the risk and show them what he has kept hidden for so long now. Biko may not be well versed in human culture, but he DOES know a bit about DPU Culture. In those days, the DPUs valued strength immensely, it was the basis of the current demon society out there, however the DPU known as Sparda valued something else, something more. He valued loyalty and honor, while also promoting the powers of vengeance. To him, there was no such thing as good or evil, just ones ideals. Ideals were the foundation of any warrior, its just some tended to me additionally sick and twisted that not even he could abide by them.
There were several sayings that he found within Nico's memories that Biko approved of:
If the King doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?
The only ones who can kill, are those who are prepared to be killed.
It was these qualities, plus Sparda's charisma, which allowed him to become the leader of the DPUs. His strength surpassed the other DPUs, and he had the capacity to lead. Where was he going with this? Well, those females had proven to him that, in DPU Culture, they were worthy of trust. They had stuck by him when he snapped in Lastation, several times in fact. They fought together in many battles to build a bond of comradery between them. Not only that, but practically all of them were similar in their own ways. It would be considered a foolish error to not trust these girls after everything that they have done for him. Then there was their desires to mate with Nico, but that was another story…
Still, Nico had hesitant, uncertain until the Hellverse incident. He had refused to believe that the girls wouldn't betray him, that they weren't like the other scumbags that he had seen on a daily basis. No, it wasn't just refusal to believe, but his mind refused to even comprehend that they wouldn't betray him, nor did it comprehend the signs to indicate this. These showed Biko that Nico had been hell bent on going through his problems on his own, hell just look at the fight with Hol Horse and J Greil in the Hellverse Dungeon. Nico practically relied on his own shattered mind to come to a conclusion that change was needed.
Nico was an independent young man, one who got through his problems on his own with sheer willpower, but something about that seemed oddly… warped to the Demon Persona. While Biko hadn't been able to see into all his forgotten memories, he had access to a few of them that seemed more prominent than the rest. Then, he had access to the memories that started from when he first woke up with Amnesia, so Biko did understand that his exposure to all that shit had left him wary and cynical of the world. He had seen the depth of the darkness within his heart, a darkness brought into being by the heartless. Still, he couldn't help but suspect there to be something more, something bigger and a whole league more self-destructive to be at work here.
There were things about Nico that not even he knew, unfortunately.
"Ahhh… interesting, so that knowledge was kept from you. Our mind is not yet ready to recall such information…" the child told him, frowning. To Biko's surprise, he detected a mix of bitterness, frustration and dismay to his tone. More than that, he detected it in such high quantities that it almost rivalled a small village's worth of negative emotions. Just as soon as it came, it disappeared however as the child Nico's expression returned to its usual blank tone. "However, while we may not recall it as of yet, our progress ensures that will change soon enough. For now, be content with this memory, a piece of our fractured self."
The moment the child said that, Biko's eyes widened when he felt information being put into his head like someone being suddenly doused with water. It was such a rush, temporary and brief, but he had learned SO FUCKING MUCH in that instance that it made the experience feel much longer. The surge did leave him with a small aching in his head, though it passed over pretty quickly.
When it did, the Demon Persona looked back to the child Nico, only to see that there was nobody there.
Still, his actions had left an impression on Biko, and with what he had learned…
'Seriously, those females will need to up their game, I did NOT anticipate this.'
Back outside in the real world, things got all the more chaotic between the two battling forces: The Mercenary group called the Merc Raiders (by Rinjiin) and the sole Spec Ops Agent along with his trusty Archdemon Urthemiel. One could say that the skies were filled with explosions as the two forces duked it out with no intent to leave the other alive at the end. In THIS wrestling ring, there would be no tapping out.
That was the thought process all forces had.
On one side, the said Archdemon flew about the airspace, launching various long-range fire attacks with its Primal fire, burning everything, they touched. The Archdemon flew upwards by the left Zeppelin, generating an aura of heat made from its hide that burned the Arrows before they could get anywhere near it. Hell, to the casual observer it looked like they just vanished before they could eve hope to hit their target. Floating up above the Zeppelin in the hovering position, the Archdemon reared its neck back to roar down at it, launching a Firestream at the Zeppelin's Balloon to reduce it to nothingness.
However, the Zeppelin seemingly Warped out of the way at the last second, appearing beside its fellow trailing Zeppelin. It then turned to face the Archdemon, its rotation speed exceeding what it would have bee originally capable of due to the Demonic Power it radiated, before its Skull unleashed a Firestream of its own. Due to the black and red colouring of the flames, Urthemiel deduced that it used Hellfire like its master, something that irked it to no end.
That Hellfire was like a sacred treasure to it and its master, it was the power that his master used, so how dare these apes dare try to imitate it!
Enraged, the Archdemon flew towards it once more, Primal fire roaring into existence and encasing its form, so it looked like a being made from solely its fire. Its intent was to ram right through it, cutting it vertically in half for daring to make such a mockery of its masters' flames. But, before it could do this, Urthemiel sensed danger coming from below and quickly banked as sharp as hell to avoid a large black and red energy beam.
It's source: The Leading Zeppelin, which had dozens of magic circles around it firing off demonic energy rays left and right.
Urthemiel channelled its Primal fire and used it to shield itself, enhancing its body heat to stop the flames from reaching its being and proving once and for all that its Primal Fire was far superior to the Hellfire that these mortals possessed. With this protection assured, the Archdemon unleashed a barrage of Fireballs from its maw, all intent on burning the Zeppelin to ashes. However, like the other one, this Zeppelin managed to Warp out of the way just seconds before the Fireballs could hit.
This made the dragon-shaped demon growl in annoyance and frustration while it prepared to attack again, before being forced to dodge more rays, this time from BOTH Zeppelins while using its powers to destroy the Arrows they sneaked in. In any other circumstance, the Archdemon would have toasted these foolish mortals, since its Primal Fire, since it had already proven itself superior. However, there was the problem of experience, this was indeed the creature's first battle in its potentially long life, so it needed to get used to using its abilities in a combat situation like this. On the other hand, these Mercenaries have been fighting for a lot longer than it had, years even, so they had good reflexes.
It helped that these Zeppelins had some form of demonic influence aiding them, increasing their endurance and granting them demon-based abilities. It knew not how this was possible but didn't put too much thought into it. With how inexperienced it was, trying to figure this out would be pointless since it knew so little. It would have to learn more before it could prove itself a valuable comrade to its master.
Those were its thoughts as its aerial battle, filled with fiery explosions and arrows, continued.
While the Archdemon dealt with the supporting Zeppelins, Urthemiel's master revved Ember's Engine
Nico shifted his Skimmer, Ember, into Flight Mode before he rode into the air. The flames making up his ride's wheels created trails behind him, trails that left no smoke yet burned brighter than the sun. The constant purring of the infernally powered engine filled his helmet-covered eardrums honestly felt much more pleasurable than getting laid for an entire night. If anyone said otherwise, he'd 'convince' them in his own unique way.
In response to his movements, the main Zeppelin opened the large maw on its equally large skull, hot flames beginning to pool within to make it look like something from a hellish nightmare. From there, Nico sensed an abundance of demonic energy being channelled, this lasting only for a second or two. In an instant, a large torrent of Hellfire, redder than the freshest blood, raced towards him like a dog eagerly fetching a bone.
'Interesting… so they use Hellfire in different concentrations, do they…?'
Nico growled at the incoming attack, raising Soul Edge and channelling its power, which proved harder than normal due to PREDATOR being active. Though, thanks to his experience, Nico pulled it off. From its widened eye, flames bled forth, covering the entire blade before he unleashed it in the form of a large wave. The wave obliterated the Hellfire blast before it could even get close to him, through the male kept Soul Edge flaming to launch an ATOMIC INFERNO on their asses. The fiery rays sailed through the air towards it, but the Zeppelin generated another Magic Circle to block the attacks. The rays were instantly extinguished the moment they came into contact with the Magic Circles.
This made Nico narrow his eyes as he banked sideways, avoiding a large fiery torrent that would have burned his ride to ashes. He had banked into a multi-barrel roll, stopping after the 5th rotation before he floored it, Ember's engines roaring with Hellfire as he ended up flying parallel to the Zeppelins port side. Immediately, like rainfall Demonic Energy and normal arrows came down on him, intent to turn him into a living pincushion.
Not on his watch, though.
Soul Edge thrummed with power, its eye wide with bloodlust whilst the miasma around its form, curtesy of PREDATOR, swirled around it dangerously. Nico then swung the blade in a reverse upward motion, launching a large trail of Flames and demonic power that went right up the Zeppelin's port wall. The loud cries of agony from its crew rang through his ears like a musical instrument as he quickly revved Ember's engine and drove/flew upwards into the airspace above.
Once he had made his way up there, Nico made a perfect U Turn on his Skimmer, facing down towards the slightly damaged Zeppelin. He didn't know why the hell it Warp ability hadn't activated to get it out the way just them, but like hell he would be looking a gift horse in the mouth. Nico instead would use this as an opportunity to get some heavy damage in, or at least to create an opening as he saw magic circles appearing over the Zeppelin's form.
Quickly gathering Soul Edge's power, Nico aimed at the Zeppelin's Balloon to launch a FIRE BLAST Attack at it, the flames trailing across the miasma-covered blade to its tip from its bleeding eye before gathering into a Fireball and launching towards te Zeppelin. Said aircraft launched one big blast of energy at him, formed from the many Magic Circles, leading to a large explosion of power between them. The winds generated would have been able to shred through any mortal Aircraft like tissue paper with how sharp and whip-like they were, but thankfully these Aircraft had Demonic Power flowing through them, increasing their endurance.
'Alright, now's the time! Urthemiel, you keep these guys occupied! I'm going to the source of this issue!' Nico thought over to his Archdemon. The link may be infantile right now, thus it wouldn't be able to respond with words yet due to not understanding the tongue being used, but in time the Archdemon would understand his thoughts. Right now, his emotions were enough for it to understand what he wanted from it, as Urthemiel roared in acceptance while unleashing many fiery Spears from its wings towards a barrage of energy Arrows from the two Support Zeppelins.
With that out of the way, Nico floored it and dove downwards towards the Zeppelin's main deck. Soul Edge's eye began to shine, and Nico felt its power beginning to shoot through his arm and up towards his head… or to be more specific, his eyes. The male quickly realized what was going on though, as there would be only one reason to target those specific body parts:
The Uranai.
According to the information he got from Biko, it was an ocular ability like that all-seeing eye from that Shounen anime with dozens of filler episodes. In Soul Edge's True Form, it could act like one of those eye sets and analyse an opponent to predict their next attack, then send that information directly to his brain. However, that didn't apply to Soul Edge in its weaker form, as in that form this ability would only work for one attack. Nevertheless, Nico must have subconsciously activated it somehow if this was happening right now.
'Whelp lets see if it works…!' the male thought to himself, before closing his eyes and allowing Soul Edge to do its work. The male felt a sudden rush of demonic glee from the sword as the changes applied themselves to his eyes. This process barely took any time at all, so little in fact that he didn't even realize that it was over until a 'click' resonated through his mind, forcing his eyes open to show that… they were the eyes of his DPU Form.
Instantly, a long buzzing sound filled his mind as information streamed into it. In his vision, the male saw what looked like holographic magic circles, crimson and crackling with matching electricity, the circles each violently trembled before releasing holographic beams in his direction, each one combining together to create one big version.
'Huh, I see… its almost like I have my own processor…'
The male blinked as Soul Edge's Uranai deactivated and his eyes returned to normal. He had to work fast, for he only had a second to consider this. Good thing he was proficient in the art of planning on the fly, huh? Nico then commenced putting his thoughts together and formed a strategy in his mind, just as he sensed the energy necessary for the upcoming attack gathering.
'Here goes nothing…!'
At once, Nico took action. He coated himself and Ember in Hellfire, making him look more like a black and crimson fireball or a meteor that could cause mass extinctions. While falling down wards the lead Zeppelin, the Uranai proved correct when he saw the same attack it had predicted begin to happen. The Magic Circles had just finished forming, but Nico reacted faster as he shifted Ember into Bike Mode in order to freefall faster. His armour thrummed with power, and Nico felt it send glee into him through their link. Looked like it enjoyed the rush it got through these reckless stunts just as much as he did. Cool.
As he fell, the Magic Circles began gathering energy into their centres energy that grew bigger and bigger with each millisecond that passed. Nico however, remained calm as he strapped Soul Edge to his back, the deadly Devil Arm latching onto that body part like it was a lifeline (in technical terms, it sort of was) before gripping Ember's handles. This would be a close one, but hey he enjoyed the rush of combat, and it wasn't like he cared if he got hurt.
His regeneration took care of it all.
Time seemed to slow down, Nico and Ember's flaming forms still rapidly approaching the Magic Circles regardless, while the Magic Circles neared completion. The tension could be felt like a weight on Nico's shoulders, his heart racing a million miles an hour which resulted in his blood being rushed through his body. The male gripped Ember's handles so tightly that if it had still remained in its normal form, it would have buckled under the weight. He could have used Soul Edge's Telekinesis to deflect the Magic Circles away from him, but he wasn't quite at the level where he could use that power's improved form in active combat just yet. Not long now…
CRASH, BOOM, FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
In the end, Nico's attempts proved to be a resounding success, for he had been able to crash into the Zeppelin, through its Balloon, and into the centre of main deck. Fire and smoke roared into existence like a volcanic eruption, shooting into the air like the pillar of light that accompanied a CPU's transformation into their HDD form… only these flames proved much more sinister.
Even with the hole in the Zeppelin's Balloon, the aircraft remarkably stayed afloat. Not something that normally happened considering their structure, however this situation wasn't the normal kind. Plus, when was anything 'normal' in Gamindustri? Never, that's the answer. Though, the impact did make the vessel jolt a little, like when something heavy suddenly slams into something else unexpectedly. Thanks to this, none of the beams got launched and the Magic Circles deactivated.
Within the flames, Nico kneeled knight-style at the centre of the Main Deck, his head hanging low while Soul Edge, under Nico's mental will, used telekinesis to manipulate the flames to cause more damage to the Zeppelin. He did this due to sensing the demonic power coursing through the vessel like blood trying to repair the damage he had dealt to it. Thus, it lead to a war-like struggle between the two forces, his Soul Edge-controlled flames and the regenerative factor for the Zeppelin.
Looking over to Ember, Nico decided that he could continue on without it, but he didn't want to leave it out in the open. He didn't want anyone getting their grubby its on his beloved ride… that, and it would probably scorch anyone who tried out of existence with Hellfire. But, where could he put it? He couldn't put it back into his Void Storage, since he didn't have the Bracers to open it in the Armour, and he didn't think it wise to pull the Armour off mid combat.
Then, he remembered that his Armour was sentient and could
'Ugh, how could I fucking forget something like that? If mom was here, she'd probably put me through the red ring of death again for that blunder…' the teen admonished himself brutally in his mind, shuddering mentally when he remembered some of the torture techniques Helen had called 'training methods' she'd used on him. They may have shown results, but goddamnit she should be considered a demon when teaching someone, she definitely had the sadism of one.
Stepping out the flames, Nico mentally commanded Soul Edge and had it extinguish the Hellfire attacking this Zeppelin. He didn't want to destroy it just yet, after all he was on it plus he had to get some answers from the 'captain' of these Merc Raiders on where they got their hands on demonic powers. The only reason he had those Hellfire flames attack so rapidly was so that he could get the attention of those on board, and judging by the signatures along with the bloodlust his senses picked up…
He'd consider his attempts a resounding success number 2.
Nico made to draw out Soul Edge again, but he then reconsidered when he noticed the crew barging out into the Main Deck. Apparently, the Zeppelins defences operated automatically, probably due to the demonic power in this place (He'll call it Desecration from now on, since it seemed to be a similar power to that). Each one seemed to be a member of the Merc Raiders, as they all wore leather getups: shirts, pants, belts, boots etc. Some even wore bandanas and eyepatches, showing experience in their respective fields. Looking at their weapons, which was the most important thing in Nico's book, the male noted that they possessed a rather crude, primitive set of Longswords, flintlock pistols, and daggers.
Seeing that these humans would be carrying little to nothing that would be a threat to him, the male decided against drawing Soul Edge. If things got tough then he'd draw it, Soul Edge could draw itself thanks to its minor sentience and Telekinetic powers, but for now he'd stick to his Obliteron Claws which deployed at the simple thought of them. They burst out the crimson claws over his knuckles into existence, Illuminating his immediate surroundings with a powerful orangish red light.
Mentally, Nico noted that the other weapons got primed and ready to spring out at a moment's notice, an action done by his partially sentient armour. Probably to make the switching of them easier.
He was liking these new perks already.
Looking about the crew as he evaluated them, Nico readied himself to strike. Each of them seemed to be ready to spring into action at a moment's notice, judging by their posture. Doing that also told him how they weren't going in blindly they could tell that he was a dangerous foe (like his Armour and glowing claws couldn't clue them in enough) so they wanted to see what kind of tricks he could use first. They knew so far about his Hellfire, but little else. In addition, Nico could sense something else about these people. Something that lurked beneath the surface, deep within their hearts. His senses couldn't make out what it was however, something was shielding it from his senses. It caused him to briefly feel a pang of concern explode in his chest, his lips curving into a concerned frown under his helmet. Whatever it was, his senses could still detect it to be full of malice, death and destruction. Perhaps that was what REALLY caused his Armour to be as alert as it was.
Whelp, let's get this started, shall we?
"Now, to quote a badass white-haired demon slayer…" Nico began, his Helmet deepening his voice to a demonic one. "This Party's getting crazy… Let's ROCK!"
Deep within the Zeppelin's Captain's Cabin, the lone solitary figure that resided within the Tavern last couple chapters sat at his desk, looking over some papers. In front of him, there was a single black bone-like hand, a hand holding a single crimson orb in its grasp which thrummed with energy. Inside, it looked like there was a chaotic storm on a constant high, lightning violently sparkling within.
The Cabin itself looked to be something right out of a horror movie, with blood covering the floor, walls and ceiling. Tendrils, pustules and other forms of twisted growth littered the Cabin, writhing and shifting occasionally like they were alive.
As for the man himself he was too busy pondering on what he had felt when he made that broadcast, or rather, when he forced one of his lackeys to mimic his past behavior to make Rinjiin assume that he had escaped unscratched back then. It turns out that he had been smart, calling for help from a Spec Ops Branch to assist him in hiding whatever it was he was hiding in Skies End. Not only that, but he had done so with a Branch outside of Leanbox's influence, meaning that this Agent would have the full might of the Spec Ops community behind him.
Not something that should be underestimated.
Still, it wasn't like he was too concerned, just a little extra cautious. If a Spec Ops Agent was here, then his men wouldn't stand a chance against him in a fight. At least, as long as it was a genuine one, as there were many throughout that community that were nothing but arrogant snobs who were all bark and no bite. Snobs who wouldn't last a second in a world where the REAL Spec Ops Agents fought. Though, regardless of this if this Agent thought he or she would have little trouble taking HIM down, then they would have a rather NASTY surprise waiting for them. Well, multiple ones, actually. A cruel, dark smirk crossed onto the human side of the man's face, his human eye shining with twisted glee reminiscent of a psychopath.
BA-DUMP
Something pulsated within him, and the man's form tensed like an animal suddenly aware that it was being hunted. His half human, half machine face scrunched up as much as it could given its state, his mismatched eyes narrowing. This looked more like his human eye narrowing into a slit while his robotic eye looked like it was zooming in on something.
It seemed that there was a powerful source of Demonic Power up on the Main Deck, probably the cause for that jolt he had felt earlier. It was also probably the reason why his fleet were dealing with a dragon worse than the one that had been protecting the skies of Skies End for decades now.
Though, this didn't mean he hadn't any countermeasures in place.
Putting down the papers, the man brought the skeleton hand closer to him before placing his own on top of the orb. His hand trembled the instant it made contact with the orb, almost like a storm was running wild through it which made him wince, but nothing else. In the next moment, his arms settled, and he manipulated the orb to show him a visual of the Main Deck.
Then, he sat down and paid attention. Time to see what this Spec Ops Agent was capable of.
Back to the Main Deck...
Nico himself refused to think of anything non-combat related, as he wove between the ranks of his enemies and thoroughly sliced them to pieces. Blood splattered over his Armour and Obliteron Claws as he ripped, tore, and shredded his opponents without mercy. Blood flew through the air, limbs were sent sailing across the air above Main Deck, and heads rolled along it. At first, these guys hadn;t much emotion, but once the slaughter began they had quickly learned to feel fear in his wake. The male was like a freakishly fast blur, ruthlessly butchering his opponents with deadly efficiency. His arms, legs, hell his entire freaking body was nothing but a barely visible blur as he mercilessly tore his foes apart.
Sausage flipping through the ranks, Nico mixed in several slashes with his Obliteron Claws, feeling the oh so satisfying sensation of hem ripping through flesh and hearing the ensuing cries of pain. He landed in a barrel roll, standing up and using the horns on his shoulder Armour to block multiple swords. He then slashed their arms off in few swift motions, before grabbing one by the neck (Deactivating the claw so he didn't kill the fucker... yet) before hurling him into the paths of his brethren weapons. All of them impaled him from behind while Nico reactivated the Obliteron claw he had dismissed and daring towards two crewmen.
These Crewmen respectively wielded Daggers, which they swiftly made to stab at his neck at multiple angles. One even went for a kick when Nico blocked them, a kick aimed towards his knees. However, the teen reacted by flipping over them, twisting in mid air to cleaver their heads off in one clean motion, landing behind their headless forms. Once he did, several more slash wounds appeared on their bodies, which soon fell to the ground separated into many tiny pieces.
One can't say Nico was slow, could they?
The teen's reflexes kicked in as he back flipped, avoiding a series of Fireballs aimed at him from his left and right flank. Landing on the Main Deck, sliding to a halt, the teen noticed that the sources were men in dark, hooded brown cloaks wielding primitive-looking Staffs. They were chanting the runic language, the teen recognizing it from MAGES. back in Hellverse, before they launched more Fireballs at him.
Swiftly, Nico switched to his Obliteron Blades, Nico got into a ready stance, his arms spread to the sides while angling downwards with his hands in chopping motions while the blade-like weapons thrummed with dangerous power. The closer the Fireballs got, the more Nico's Blades thrummed, until the male unloaded into a slashing frenzy onto them. Each Fireball got cut in half thanks to the Blades. Obliteron WAS a combination of Hellfire and Plasma, so them being able to cut through magic like warm tofu would be expected. The male also had the gall to make it look like a Dance, mixing in a few Hellfire blasts from his Obliteron Cannons that bombarded the approaching close combat fighters.
Once the Fireballs were dealt with, Nico noticed the Mages attempting to make more to strike him down with. Not on his watch, the male thought while thrusting his arms in their directions. His Obliteron Blades vanished, replaced by the similar named Chains that lunged forth from his Forearm Armour, shooting through the air like bullets before impaling the Mages. He then yanked his arms backwards, making many clinking sounds as the Chains both burned through the captives as well as brought them into Nico's CQC circle. The teen retracted his Chains in favor of switching to his Obliteron Knucklebusters, punching one right through the face while using the momentum to spin into a wide roundhouse kick. He killed 2 Mages in 2 moves, nearly one, before he went ahead and launched a vicious barrage of punches to the others while moving at high speeds.
Needless to say, none of those pesky Mages Survived.
Nico then unloaded a bombardment of Hellfire blasts from his Obliteron Cannons, peppering his enemies. The humans that got his began screaming unholy screams, almost like frightened little girls as they got consumed by the hungry flames. The male also added in his Obliteron Launcher, the familiar weight of the demonic Grenade Launcher all but comforting in the teen's hands as he blew his opponents to dust. The screams of his opponents got even louder at this, all the while Nico paid them little attention.
Instincts set themselves off within him as Nico elbowed someone approaching him from behind, noting it to be someone who dual wielded daggers. The man quickly recovered and sidestepped his ranged weapons, going for a drop kick to his face that Nico ducked under. The man slammed his Dagger-holding hands into the ground to balance himself for his next attack, a Helicopter kick, but then Nico grabbed him by one leg, having dismissed his Obliteron Launcher back to his Void Storage, and set him alight with Hellfire. He then generated a large ball of the demonic element and threw it during a spin, resulting in a large wave that exterminated a large portion of the crewmen.
Generating more Hellfire in his hands, Nico eyed his opponents carefully behind his Helmet. There were about 12 left now, instead of the original 80 Crewmen for this Zeppelin. Each of them didn't look like they were at their best either, the teen noted, as about 60% of them had various lacerations on their bodies, one even was moving on a single leg, the other having been carved up tot he point where only a few strands of flesh held it to the rest of the leg. Still, that one looked as determined to finish this as the rest of them, even though he could sense their fear as clear as crystal.
'Looks like these guys didn't know what they were getting into... they didn't expect this kind of resistance when coming here. Probably only thought they'd find an old man without much means to protect himself. Typical Bandit behavior.'
'Still, this dark sensation lurking within their hearts worries me. It hasn't done anything to them, it just stays dormant. Yet, even so, I am detecting strange abnormalities of which it is no doubt the source of.'
Biko brought up another good point, Nico admitted. It was something he'd noticed as well, as even in that kind of battle trance Nico kept his observation on his surroundings. His ability to sense negative emotions had been key in this battle, as it helped him disconcert who was going to attack him next by the faint sparks of bloodlust. When someone was about to attack, they usually had a minuscule increase in KI. Even the strongest of warriors had this issue, as even if they could conceal their presence, their own emotions were much harder to contain. Harder than what one might expect. For example, even now he could sense intense frustration building within these men at how they weren't getting anywhere with him, despite their best attempts to kill him.
Still, the bottom line was that unknown sensation his senses picked up hadn't done anything, so he kept his guard up.
Letting one's guard down was the enemy when in engagements like these.
The male struck first, launching two Fireballs at his opponents. They flew true, hitting 2 of his opponents and incinerating them to nothingness whilst the rest managed to get out the way in time... or so they thought, as Nico mentally manipulated the flames to lash out as fiery Tendrils, ones that ensnared up to 6 of his opponents and reduced them to nothingness. Hey, Hellfire manipulation was only limited to the imagination, and he had seen his fair share of fire users in his time.
Nico then reared his right arm back for a punch, his arm engulfed in Hellfire before he thrusted it forwards, launching a swirling torrent of the element. The men all scattered to dodge it again, but this time only 2 survived. The rest of them, they got burned to nothingness their screams fading into oblivion where they would never be heard from again.
Pulling the flames back, Nico formed a barrier behind him to block one of the men from stabbing him in the back. This allowed his partner to throw some of his Daggers at him, hoping to use the distraction to get a hit in on him. However, instead of simply letting the Armour block it, Nico let Soul Edge (which was getting increasingly restless as time went on), control the Hellfire while he just went and decided to pull something that he'd seen once in a video on youtube...
Raise both hands to his covered face and catch the knives in-between his fingers before they could impale his helmet.
Now, he SWORE he heard someone whistle at that, but didn't pay it much heed.
With the Daggers in hand, Nico flipped them over so he held them by their grips in the proper reverse positions. He then applied Desecration to them, infusing them with demonic power and reforming them into ugly, demonic versions of themselves. He then chucked them back at their owner, whom tried his best to imitate him only to get them stuck into his stomach, thighs and biceps.
This was the time for him to finish them off. Those humans wouldn't have been able to do much to him, and it doesn't look like these guys would be using whatever that was in their hearts any time soon. Now that he thought about it, did they even know that was there in the first place? Shaking his head, Nico decided to finish them off by reforming the barrier into a series of fiery blades above his head, each one double edged and each edge being jagged. Once he finished these fools off, then Nico would track down the captain to see what the hell was happening here.
However...
"It seems that you have done a lot on my followers."
